Yesterday, Better Place announced its plans to build an electric vehicle network in California.
http://www.betterplace.com/california
This comes at a time of crisis for the auto industry in Detroit. Yesterday, Michael Moritz of the FT described the importance of not bailing out the failed industry. He calls the United States, a nation in denial over the last thirty years. http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/d09dfebe-b729-11dd-8e01-0000779fd18c.html
The rest of the world has been developing vehicles with better mileage, whereas we have produced growing numbers of SUVs and trucks. In 1999, for example, while we luxuriated in $1.26 for a gallon of petrol, Germans were paying $3.62 and the Japanese $3.26. No wonder we are way behind now.
If Obama makes the right calls, there's hope for the future even if we suffer in the short term. Do you think he can risk taking on Detroit's unions and deal a blow to the union movement? That seems to be the largest challenge to his democratic base, but perhaps he can drive in the point that the current business model is just untenable and can find some way to support or re-train people who may lose jobs. Can Obama allow the free market to catalyze the transition to cleaner energy or will it require a New Deal to invest in alternative energy and a GI Bill to support education and retraining for those losing jobs from the 'old' auto indsustry?
Friday, November 21, 2008
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
The Coming Battle among Electric Vehicles
In "Charging Ahead with Electric Cars" (http://www.greenbiz.com/blog/2008/11/18/charging-ahead-with-electric-cars), Marc Gunther pinpoints the importance of the present moment for the electric vehicle industry. There are a wide range of car models and production strategies under development, from Better Place's alliance with Renault-Nissan to GM's Chevy Volt and the numerous start-ups such as Tesla, Think, Fisker, and ZENN.
The results or terms of the present debate over a bailout for the Big 3 in the US will significantly shape where electrical vehicles go down the line. If the US is left with a void by the fall of the larger companies, smaller start-ups or foreign companies may fill the space. On the other hand, the US government, which has been blasting GM for its short-sightedness, could attempt more stringent guidelines to require EV or plug-in hybrid development as a bridge technology.
In any case, these various models will be competing for public support, which should help to educate the public on the importance of switching to renewable energy for automobiles. The battle among publicity campaigns should be epic, and with some foresighted support from the US government, these companies will be able to offer customers the tax-breaks and other credits necessary to introduce this vital EV technology for the future.
The results or terms of the present debate over a bailout for the Big 3 in the US will significantly shape where electrical vehicles go down the line. If the US is left with a void by the fall of the larger companies, smaller start-ups or foreign companies may fill the space. On the other hand, the US government, which has been blasting GM for its short-sightedness, could attempt more stringent guidelines to require EV or plug-in hybrid development as a bridge technology.
In any case, these various models will be competing for public support, which should help to educate the public on the importance of switching to renewable energy for automobiles. The battle among publicity campaigns should be epic, and with some foresighted support from the US government, these companies will be able to offer customers the tax-breaks and other credits necessary to introduce this vital EV technology for the future.
Sunday, November 9, 2008
Re-Tooling for a healthier economy
In "A Splash of Green or the Rust Belt" (http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/02/business/02wind.html), Peter Goodman of the New York Times describes the conversion of old abandoned factories and the workforce that inhabited then, to supporting Green jobs. In particular, he describes that after Whirlpool swallowed up Maytag, the Newton, Iowa factory producing washing machines closed down. Roughly a year later TPI Composites, a wind turbine blade producer based in Arizona, arrived to look at the facilities. Newton's rail and highway transportation systems, as well as it's proximity in the Great Plains where the blades would be transported, made it an ideal spot. In addition, Newton's local community college was eager to teach employees how to make the blades.
Goodman also describes the case of West Branch, Iowa, where the Spanish company, Acciona, converted an empty hydraulic pump factory into a plant that makes wind turbines.
Many companies in the midwest see the renewable energy industry picking up in the center of the country. Xunlight of Toledo, OH and Entegrity Wind Systems of Boulder, CO are two more companies that may make this happen.
Surely, it's a lucrative field as Venture capital put $5 billion into clean energy firms last year, roughly twenty percent of their total investments. This was a marked increase from just two percent in 2000.
For these companies, marketing the social importance of helping to re-tool U.S. factories to provide cutting edge jobs for Americans should be central to their efforts. Reinforcing the fact that most of these jobs can't be outsourced, should be central to the marketing program. Particularly with wind, shipping the turbines is prohibitively costly.
But even more importantly, Americans view themselves as the world's most advanced economy. Highlighting that these jobs must be done by Americans, reinforces the notion that wind (and solar) are the most 'advanced' and 'modern' energies. Americans are needed to produce them and we have the know-how and resourcefulness to do it cost-effectively.
Goodman also describes the case of West Branch, Iowa, where the Spanish company, Acciona, converted an empty hydraulic pump factory into a plant that makes wind turbines.
Many companies in the midwest see the renewable energy industry picking up in the center of the country. Xunlight of Toledo, OH and Entegrity Wind Systems of Boulder, CO are two more companies that may make this happen.
Surely, it's a lucrative field as Venture capital put $5 billion into clean energy firms last year, roughly twenty percent of their total investments. This was a marked increase from just two percent in 2000.
For these companies, marketing the social importance of helping to re-tool U.S. factories to provide cutting edge jobs for Americans should be central to their efforts. Reinforcing the fact that most of these jobs can't be outsourced, should be central to the marketing program. Particularly with wind, shipping the turbines is prohibitively costly.
But even more importantly, Americans view themselves as the world's most advanced economy. Highlighting that these jobs must be done by Americans, reinforces the notion that wind (and solar) are the most 'advanced' and 'modern' energies. Americans are needed to produce them and we have the know-how and resourcefulness to do it cost-effectively.
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